Sunday, January 15, 2012

]"Justice League" is getting the widely-anticipated delay suggested ever since Jim Lee was announced as the penciller. Hopefully the book can quickly get back on track, even if it means bringing some fill-in artists in, but it doesn't bode well for the flagship title to slip a week.

Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy is getting a graphic novel adaptation at Vertigo. I had no interest in the series, but I watched the American version of the film, and it was entertaining enough (except, unsurprisingly, the extended and graphic rape scene). I'd actually be much more inclined to read the graphic version, though I doubt that I'd want to pay for the full price of two graphic novels to get one story that I'm kind of lukewarm on. Maybe I'll look into the digital pricing when it comes around.

Rumor has it that CW is developing a Green Arrow series as a follow-up to "Smallville" it's definitely an odd choice (though not too odd, given that GA was basically "Smallville"'s Batman), but maybe it'll lead to the wheels turning on that old "Supermax" movie project. The idea of Green Arrow (or almost any other superhero, really) going undercover in a supervillain prison would make a great, original superhero movie. Or a terrible one, but hopefully the former.

Rob Liefeld is joining the creative teams for three more titles, what with the cancellation of "Hawk & Dove." I...I don't understand this at all. Okay, sure, keep the guy working, his name is still a draw for some folks. But his name is also synonymous with lateness, and he wasn't enough of a draw to keep his last book afloat sales-wise. It might actually be interesting to see a title that he's writing but not drawing, because the interview makes him sound like an excitable child talking about the storylines he's concocted with his action figures. And that's...kind of awesome, that after all the hate and jokes, this is a guy who still loves the hell out of comics and gets super-excited about the things he's working on. I wonder what a book written by Rob Liefeld and drawn by Ethan Nicolle would be like.

With the revelation that "Huntress" is following Earth-2's character, I'm wondering what other glimpses of Earth-2 we've gotten already. "The Shade" almost has to be an Earth-2 title, because it's the only way that the long Starman history makes sense. I'm willing to bet, though, that "The Ray" is on Earth-2 as well, if not a modern Earth-X. There's the casual and oblique references to an earlier hero using "The Ray" as an alias before, but also the specific reference to Happy Terrill's ballooning origin story. Plus, this world is apparently quite used to superheroes zipping about in the sky, something that really can't be said for the "heroes showed up five years ago" fear and distrust in the New 52 Earth.

Which brings up a point that I talked about with my retailer: the Earth-2 Earth is probably going to look a lot more like the pre-Flashpoint DCU we're used to. That could mean good things for people who miss the fun/whimsy of a world saturated with superheroics, and the legacies that are missing from the New-52 Earth, and could provide a story outlet for folks who want that material. It, of course, means making the universe potentially so confusing that it needs a major reboot in 20 years, but that's the way these things go anyway.

O.M.A.C.: The only book on the list that I'm actually sorry to see go. I kind of wonder how this title would have done if Dan Didio's name weren't attached. It's a shame, but I think the low expectations that set at the start helped keep the book from ever finding a footing, despite widespread acclaim from the Kirbyphiles of the Internets. It was crazy fun, and I'm sad to see it go. Hopefully, though, we'll see Cadmus and Co. popping up in Giffen's run on Superman--because honestly, Cadmus ought to be closer to Jimmy Olsen anyway.

Men of War: I thought this might not have been long for this world when they didn't announce a creative team beyond issue #6. This title ended up being kind of a mess, without a consistent tone or concept; it might have done better if that early backup hadn't been so...bad. The later ones--with mech-battlesuits and something like the Sea Devils--were a step up, but the main story was kind of incomprehensible.

Mister Terrific and Static Shock: Both books I wanted to like, both books that just didn't do it for me. It makes me fairly uneasy that DC's cancelling two titles featuring minority characters, especially when none of the new books (apparently, so far) have minority leads. I wouldn't be surprised to see Static popping up soon, but I'd like to see DC do a real push with some of the other Milestone properties. Innaworld where superheroes are mistrusted and feared, a book about superhuman gangs like "Blood Syndicate" seems like it'd be a really good fit. In fact, I'd love to see a "Steel" book where he became the primary superhero in a city where ostracized metahuman teens found acceptance (and too often, violence) in meta-gangs. Wrap Intergang around it as the reason for the explosion in meta-gene activations and a recruitment agency/old-mob rival to the rising Blood Syndicate of meta-gangs, and you've got the recipe for a pretty good superhero crime comic.

Hawk and Dove and Blackhawks never made my pull list, so I can't say I'm sad to see them go. It's probably for the best for "Hawk and Dove," because past history suggests that "Rob Liefeld scripting and drawing a monthly comic" is not a sustainable situation.

And for the newcomers:

Batman, Incorporated is no surprise, although I didn't expect to be getting it quite so soon. I should probably finally read the "Leviathan Strikes" book.

Earth 2 is the other previously-announced title, James Robinson and Nicola Scott's Justice Society book. I'll be interested in seeing how this title works out; I've been pretty cold on Robinson in recent years, but I'm enjoying "The Shade" well enough, and he helped put the Justice Society back on the map in their last big relaunch, so maybe the return to more familiar environs than the Justice League will result in a marked improvement. I'll at least be checking this one out, and I'm cautiously optimistic. At the very least, though, it'll be pretty.

Worlds' Finest seems like a pleasant surprise. Based on various interviews and some dot-connecting, it looks like Huntress, Power Girl, and possibly Black Canary are stranded on Earth-New-52, which makes BC's whole relationship with Starling and Barbara interestingly wrinkled. It also makes me wonder just what Helena's connection is to Italy, without the mob background, but it's not as if there's no reason for a Wayne-kid Bat-family member to go globetrotting.

G.I. Combat sounds like it's poised to succeed where "Men of War" failed, with a little more well-defined focus and a better distribution of interest between the main and backup stories. I kind of wish it were called "Weird War Tales," given its stated focus of Haunted Tank and War that Time Forgot stories, but I suppose that leaves it open to more Sgt. Rock or other stories--and there's not necessarily a "Weird" element to the Unknown Soldier. I'll definitely give this one a shot.

Dial H: As a big "Dial H for Hero" fan, I'm excited to see the concept making a comeback, and with a nice Brian Bolland cover to boot. This is probably the book that most excites me from this announcement.

The Ravagers: And this is the one that least interests me. I'll re-evaluate once we see who the characters are (no doubt Rose Wilson, spinning out of "Superboy"), but I have no desire to read "Teen Titans," Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill aren't exactly a draw, and I'm barely even interested in the "Superboy" title, despite being more inclined toward reading it. The "Young Justice" line of the New 52 is the one that least holds my interest at this point, which is a shame, because you'd think it would be a focal point to draw in new readers. Then again, I'm not exactly a new reader.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

I've decided to resolve to be a bit more positive and less reactionary in 2012. I started this blog, after all, way back when I was a young'un of 21, and any time I look back to some of those old posts, I feel pretty embarrassed. So I'm going to do something I never thought I would: I'm going to prune away some of those negative nelly posts that I wrote in the rage of an angry, nerd-entitled youth. If you've got favorites in the archives where I've done a bit of petty namecalling, I recommend looking at them soon, because they're not long for this world.

2012 is the year that I write a little more professionally...if nor more regularly.